Seamless extensions

Katrina and Mathew bought their house just over five years ago. It was
built in 1916 and hadn't had much done to it since that time. When they
purchased the house it was a two bedroom box shaped bach with a lean-to
laundry and the bathroom tacked onto the back, all of which had been
neglected for many years.

For the first year, they didn't make any changes. They wanted to live
there for a year first to understand what they liked about the house,
to get the feel of the house and to understand the light and warmth
of the house over all four seasons. No projects or changes were started
until they understood all of these aspects.

The house had no street appeal at all and was not very inviting to
visitors. The most important priority was to restore the house back
to its original character and brighten up the dull dark rooms commonly
associated with old houses without modernising the house.

Combining Matt's self employed builder skills and Katrina's eye for
colour and fabric, all the work done on the house, including building,
plastering, painting, sanding, restoring, drapery and landscaping was
done by the pair themselves.

After restoring the original part of the house, the lean-to laundry
and bathroom were removed and the house had a 50 square metre extension
added to it. The extension consisted of two bedrooms and new bathroom,
laundry and hallway and one of the bedrooms in the original house was
changed into a dining room. The extension was built in exactly the same
style and era as the original house as it was very important to keep
the house flowing in the same style inside and out. A veranda was added
to the front of the house to give the much-needed street appeal and
to give an outdoor viewing platform from the house over the gardens
newly created from recycled bricks and plantings of a once vacant barren
section.

Katrina's eye for colour led her to select a broad colour palette.
Outside the home is finished in Resene Xanadu on main panels joined
by Resene Gin on battens and Resene Midnight Moss on the roof.

On the
inside, the sunroom is finished in a mix of Resene Witch Hazel on walls,
Resene Dutch White on the ceiling and polyurethaned wooden floors and
trim.

Continuing the Dutch White ceiling finish throughout the home for continuity,
it has been joined by Resene Portage in the lounge, Resene Black Rose
in the dining room, a special blend of Resene Tussock in the hallway,
Resene Zambesi in the bathroom, and one of each of Resene Xanadu, Resene
Highlander and Resene Persian Plum in each of the three bedrooms.

The house has been one huge project and is almost finished. Both found
the project fun and very satisfying with many a weekend spent rummaging
around building recyclers trying to find door fixtures and fittings
to match in with the original part of the house. The extension works
seamlessly with the original house. Even now Katrina and Mathew find
it hard to believe it's the same house they bought five years ago when
most people told them they were crazy and mad for buying it!

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